Kazakhstan

In 2016, the Paris Agreement came into force. It was a sign of commitment and hope for a greener future. With our planet facing extreme weather conditions and abrupt climate changes, we must act swiftly!

Photo: UNDP

As I am writing this article, 13,000 people are trapped in Zermatt, a famous Swiss ski resort, due to an unusually extreme snowfall, the Niagara Falls, on the border of the US and Canada, are partially iced up, Singapore is flooded and a drought in Central Spain is alarming both the authorities and population. And the list is all but exhaustive. Year after year, we are facing increasingly extreme weather conditions that affect everybody’s lives, rich or poor.

SDG 13 is about Climate Action and it has everything to do with our countries’ commitment to put into practice the Paris Agreement. Turning it into reality requires political will, but also the involvement of the private sector, as well as organizations and citizens. The 143 countries that ratified the Paris Agreement have to join efforts and develop national adaptation plans in response to climate change. Developed countries will have to inject about USD 100 billion per year to help achieve target by 2020. Disaster risk reduction strategies and climate change adaptation programs still need to be implemented in many countries to help prevent dramatic consequences such as human losses, forced migration and hunger.

Our Horyou community has been fully committed to SDG 13 through either supporting organizations that monitor and promote climate action, or fostering and participating in meaningful debates about that critical topic. Every year, Horyou organizes the Social Innovation and Global Ethics Forum, a global event that frequently addresses the issue of climate change. SIGEF 2016 was one of the most important COP 22side events in Marrakesh. It hosted many organizations, alongside prominent members of civil society and government officials who highlighted their country’s commitment to climate action.

During SIGEF 2017, in Astana, UN officials, international delegations and private sector experts gathered to assess the most important achievements and urge for more. In 2018, SIGEF will take place in Singapore, and Horyou will take the debate to the next level. More information regarding this fifth edition will be provided shortly!

If you wish to support this SDG, you can do so through Horyou. Go to Horyou platform and choose an NGO or project that helps promote climate action in your region or anywhere in the world. You can also show your support by participating in #HoryouLightChallenge! Be the change, be Horyou!

Horyou community is pleased to share an account of its major actions and events in 2017 while it is bracing for more in 2018!

Opening ceremony SIGEF 2017

The clock is ticking and it’s only a few hours before New Year’s Eve and our community is full of joy and excitement, both for the things it has fulfilled during the year that has just elapsed than for the ones it has got in store for 2018. We’ve lived so many things together, we’ve grown and learned from each other, we’ve made new friends and became stronger while welcoming new members and organizations! So, now is the time to remember and the time to look ahead!

Our ever-growing community is our first reason to rejoice! We have now broken the glass ceiling of 250,000 users and 1,500 organizations and attained a full global presence. Horyou is growing stronger in Asia, with a more effective presence in Japan, Philippines, Singapore and India. Yonathan Parienti, Horyou founder and CEO, has spent several months travelling through the region to share our community’s message of social good and to officially launch Spotlight, our global digital social currency for economic inclusion. This was achieved during the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, in India to highlight the fact that «Horyou values were more than welcome and that Spotlight can make a difference for many projects, organizations and change makers, in Asia and all over the world», as he put it.

Horyou at the GES!

It is in that context of expanding our community and extending our activities in Asia that SIGEF, the Social Innovation and Global Ethics Forum, was organized by Horyou in Astana, Kazakhstan, during the EXPO 2017. A landmark really! Through its several panels, SIGEF fostered the debate on some of the most crucial subjects of interest of our time, including smart cities, future energy and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Horyou also led an international and diverse delegation through EXPO 2017, focusing on the importance of clean and efficient energy globally.

And on the 18th of December, Horyou has launched the #HoryouLightChallenge, which aims to call everyone to join efforts in view of a swift and effective implementation of the SDGs. The concept of the challenge is to use social media to spread positivity, as well as social good actions and projects, and create a buzz around the many ways we can act to help the SDGs come true. The challenge is still on; click here to know more about it and have a chance to win an all-inclusive trip to SIGEF 2018 in Singapore next September.

Join the #HoryouLightChallenge!

Looking ahead, there is a lot more to come, all of which will be shared with you in the next few weeks. But one thing that you should be already saving the date is SIGEF 2018 will be held in Singapore, one of the most innovative and fast-growing cities in the world. Stay tuned.

Smart Cities, Future Energy and Sustainable Development Goals were addressed in the 4th edition of the Social Innovation and Global Ethics Forum that took place in Kazakhstan

Panelists, SIGEF team and participants in open ceremony

Astana, Kazakhstan, was the host city of the 4th edition of SIGEF, the Social Innovation and Global Ethics Forum. The first edition to be held in Central Asia, it was organized by Horyou, the social network for social good, and took plce on September 5 at Rixos President Astana Hotel with the objective to further promote and advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the context of EXPO 2017, one of the most important global events of the year. SIGEF 2017 hosted a broad variety of high profile international speakers and panelists before a qualified local and international audience, as well as a large spectrum of global viewers reached via the live-streaming of its sessions.

SIGEF 2017 panels offered interesting insights into three of the most critical challenges of our times: Smart Cities, Sustainable Development Goals and Future Energy – the latter supporting the theme of EXPO 2017 Astana. The opening remarks were delivered by Yonathan Parienti, founder and CEO of Horyou who stated: «We live in a world of exacerbated consumption at all levels that is seriously straining sustainable development efforts. SIGEF 2017 is a great opportunity to examine and share solutions to redefine our priorities and help accelerate its implementation. Here we are truly connecting for good». Parienti was succeeded on stage by Dr. Li Ruohong, Chairman of the China World Peace Foundation, founder of the Peace Garden, and Director-General of the Beijing International Peace Culture Foundation, who highlighted the strong global aspiration for peace in a world that is witnessing tensions of different sorts. A resolute optimist, Dr. Ruohong emphasized the strong correlation between a harmonious search for sustainability and a respectful approach to cultures and diversity to shape a better future.

The first panel, «Smart Cities: Cities of Tomorrow?», considered the impact of technology and connectivity on the unavoidable expansion of urbanization, highlighting the need to build more efficient and sustainable cities. Live-streamed from Kenya, keynote speaker Nicholas You, former UN Habitat Advisor and Co-president of Global Cities Business Alliance, reminded the audience that «a Smart City puts people first and engages into continuous learning, where information is shared in real time». He was joined on the panel by Andrew Snowhite, Executive Director of the USA Pavilion at EXPO 2017 and Pierre-Olivier Boyer, Director of Strategic Partnership at Vicat Group. Both panelists promoted an inclusive urban planning that takes into puts citizen’s needs ahead of corporate or political interests.

SDG panel

Smart Cities was followed by two panels dedicated to the «SDGs as multi-stakeholders opportunities» session, speakers for the private sector and international organizations took the stage to assess the UN Sustainable Development Goals’ momentum. First to speak on the first panel, Munkhtuya Altangerel, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Kazakhstan, highlighted the SDGs milestones in Central Asia affirming that «Remarkable achievements have been made in poverty reduction and accountability”, while admitting that “We still face challenges in the region». Her address was amplified by Dr. Li Ruohong, from China World Peace Foundation, Zhanar Sagimbayeva, UNICEF’s Child Monitoring Specialist and Yonathan Parienti who shared thoughts and hopes for the future we want to live in – and the legacy we are leaving.

Dr Li Ruohong

The second SDG panel guested Yoshioka Tatsuya, co-founder and Director of Peace Boat, Michael Eves, Group Chief Actuary of Swiss Re Group and Peter Biwott, CEO of Export Promotion Council Kenya. The addresses revolved around the opportunities that the SDGs provide for the private sector whereby the panelists agreed that social inclusion should be the rule because it benefits all actors of society. Mr. Biwott, on his part, added that «Our ultimate goal is to reduce hunger and strengthen education».

Resonating with the Paris Agreement, the closing session was on «Future Energy», during which the speakers had the opportunity to share their visions and perspectives about perhaps the biggest challenge for humanity. Advancing the conviction that social entrepreneurship and innovative business models are strong tools to promote positive change, keynote speaker Yoshioka Tatsuya presented the Peace Boat case which uses cruise ships as an educational tool for SDG studies. He was followed by panelists Dr. Pierre Kiala, Deputy Director of Angola Pavilion, Diala Beinke, Engineer and Energy Advisor, and Kodzo Alabo, Ambassador of Ghana who shared their thoughts on the need to diversify sources of energy and to promote social education in order to reach a sustainable consumption of power.

Yonathan Parienti, founder and CEO of Horyou

Lastly, in his closing remarks, Yonathan Parienti invited the international audience of SIGEF 2017 to shape better times to come. «SIGEF is about sharing inspiration. We can have people from many backgrounds, geographies and nationalities standing together to work out solutions for the future», said the founder and CEO of Horyou.

The event was live streamed to more than 250,000 Horyou adherents from 180 countries, and a large number of SIGEF’s partners followers locally and worldwide.

SIGEF 2017 panels were followed by a networking session and cocktail, which gave all speakers and members of the audience the opportunity to “connect for good”. On the 6th and 7th of September, Horyou led a SIGEF17 International delegation to an official visit of a number of EXPO 2017 country pavilions. For more information visit www.sigef2017.com.

About Horyou

Horyou connects more than 250,000 Internet users to Non-Profit Organisations, Artists, and Innovators in 180 countries. Horyou organizes international events in resonance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, such as the Horyou Village in Cannes during the Film Festival and the Social Innovation and Global Ethics Forum, SIGEF. Horyou recently launched Spotlight, the first global social currency supporting economic inclusion worldwide, embedded into the social network. Horyou aims to connect CSR and innovative companies to its diverse community of change-makers worldwide.

One of the largest events in Central Asia, Expo 2017 Astana reveals the region to the world

Astana is one of the fastest-growing capitals in the world

Yuri Shurygin, a 38-year old Russian national, is the three-millionth visitor to the Astana Expo 2017, taking place in Kazakhstan’s capital city. The mark was reached on August 25, when Akhmetzhan Yessimov, Chairman of the event, congratulated Shurygin and offered him a special welcome gift.

According to the Astana Expo 2017 organizers, around 15% of the visitors are foreigners, most of whom from Russia, Kazakhstan’s closest neighbor. Seizing the opportunity, Yessimov reminded that one of the goals of the event was to increase the tourist flow to the country. He also celebrated the mark which surpasses the initial expectation of two milion visitors at completion of the first three months of the exhibition, which was August 4th. “EXPO 2017 met our expectations completely. The exhibition not only boosted job openings, but also incomes” he added. The multiplication effect, he said, was felt by local busineses of all sizes, while the hotels occupancy rate has doubled.

The previous day, Kazakhstan’s national pavilion greeted its one-millionth visitor.

While the exhibition will end on September 10th, raising hopes for the numerous events that are yet to come, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan’s president, is said to have approved a plan for post-exhibition use of Expo 217 facilities, according to the local press. Three legacy projects are thus to take shape – the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), the Future Energy international center for the transfer of green technologies and investment projects, and the International IT Startup Hub.

On September 5-7, Horyou will be hosting the Social Innovation and Global Ethics Forum (SIGEF 2017), at Rixos President Astana Hotel, to which hundreds of attendees are expected. (tickets here).

The Horyou’s 4th Edition of SIGEF will take place during EXPO 2017 Astana, in Kazakhstan. The Social Innovation and Global Ethics Forum will discuss Future Energy, Smart Cities, SDGs, and lead official delegation to EXPO 2017 Astana. More information on www.sigef2017.com and consult agenda or register your attendance.